She had not been there ten minutes when she was secretly blaming Bell for not having thought of this before. Indeed, if it had not been for haunting thoughts of Anna and the baby, she would have been quite comfortable. It occurred to her that Joe, Junior, would like to be sitting on her lap looking out the window with her. There was a Newfoundland dog—she wondered if he would know what it was and say bow-wow?
As a matter of fact Joe, Junior, was saying bow-wow to every dog he saw that afternoon, thereby nearly convulsing Freddy Miller who walked at his side. The boys wheeled him all the way from the Hollow to the post office in his new perambulator.
Rusty had brought it home with her as a Christmas present for her sister. After she had gone away in the early autumn, Rusty had begun to feel as if she had been less than fair to Anna. She had been deeply impressed by her sister’s devotion to the baby and by the sacrifice of her beautiful hair. It was like Rusty to desire to make her atonement concrete, and she had saved all her pocket money towards a Christmas present for Anna, expecting to get something handsome in the way of jewelry or other personal adornment. But when she had made secret enquiries of the family, no one knew of anything that Anna really wanted, except that Frank suspected she was saving her money for a perambulator for Joe, Junior. Whereupon Rusty purchased an handsome carriage that was convertible into a sleigh.
Anna had been overwhelmed with delight. The perambulator had been placed in the parlour and covered by a sheet, that the baby should not see it before Christmas day.
Against this, however, the boys had protested loudly. They declared they wanted to be sure to use it before the runners should be put on, and everyone said there was a storm due, and it would be too mean for anything if they couldn’t try the wheels before April. The baby was so little he wouldn’t know the difference, anyhow. But Anna would not yield.
Reuben was to arrive at Wenham the day before Christmas, and Rusty was to drive over to meet him with Miss Penny’s pony. It occurred to her that morning to ask Anna to go with her.
Anna flushed to the roots of her dandelion hair, as Frank called it. Then she remembered the baby and told Rusty she couldn’t leave him.
“Ma’s got baking to do, and I couldn’t have her bothered, Rusty.”
“But he’ll sit on the floor and not be the least trouble,” urged her sister.
“I don’t like to risk anything now, Rusty,” Anna confessed. “Ma didn’t take to him at first, and now she’s begun to, I don’t want any setback. I want him to live with us always, you see.”